


In My Life

by mchicken



Series: The Beatles Trilogy Plus One [2]
Category: The Streets of San Francisco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 19:12:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16290191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mchicken/pseuds/mchicken





	1. Chapter 1

 

**In My Life**

"There are places I remember  
all my life though some have changed.  
Some forever not for better  
some have gone and some remain.  
All these places have their moments,  
with lovers and friends I still can recall.  
Some are dead and some are living  
in my life, I've loved them all.

But of all these friends and lovers  
there is no one compares with you.  
And these memories lose their meaning  
when I think of love as something new.  
Though I know I'll never lose affection  
for people and things that went before.  
I know I'll often stop and think about them  
in my life, I love you more." Lennon/McCartney

00000

"Hey man, you gonna cut the hair and beard before classes start?" Tim asked the handsome young man with the striking green eyes.

Steve ran his hand through his almost shoulder length wavy brown hair and the rubbed the lengthening beard on his chin, "I don't know, not much of a look for a lawyer, is it?"

"Makes you look a little bit, I don't know, dangerous, but the chicks sure dig it. Don't think you're gonna impress any judges with that look." Drew added.

"I guess I'll have to do something about it eventually. What do you guys wanna do tonight?" Steve asked his roommates. It was nearly 6 pm and as it was the last week before classes began at Berkeley for the semester, the young man intended to get as much out of his final week of freedom as he could. He was about to begin law school and knew between that and his job, there would be very little free time in the weeks and months to come. His roommates, Drew and Tim were a year younger, entering their senior year.

"Monday night, not much happening, what do you want to do?" Tim responded.

Steve flopped down on the broken down couch that dominated the living room of their apartment and grabbed the newspaper from on top of the crate that served as a coffee table. He pulled out the entertainment section and perused their options. "Movie?  _Grand Prix_  is playing in town, it's supposed to be pretty far out." Steve continued to look at the paper, " _Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolfe_  is at the campus theater for cheaps, it's been playing a while, but I haven't seen it yet."

"Nah," Drew piped in, "Dude, we're all over 21, how bout we go someplace where we can meet some chicks?"

"Well, there'll be chicks at the movie on campus, Richard Burton's in it." Steve replied.

"Really?" What kind of chicks do you think we're likely to meet at a picture about a history professor?" Drew responded, not convince. Tim added a few barks in mocking reply.

"Uh, chicks who can _read?"_ Steve retorted sarcastically.

"Hate to tell you brother, but I'm not looking for chicks who can read." Tim said with a raised eyebrow as he snatched the paper from Steve and perused the listings.

"Cool! Country Joe and the Fish are at The Jabberwock. There are usually some crazy hippy chicks there, but bummer man, there's a cover charge.

"You guys got any bread?" Steve asked.

Tim dug out his wallet, "5 bucks, but that has to last all week. You got any dough, Drew?"

Drew emptied his pockets, "What a drag, all I have is 2 dollars and a bus token."

They both looked expectantly at Steve. "What are you two losers looking at me for? Just because I had a job on campus this summer doesn't mean I'm going to support your social life."

Steve put his cowboy boot shod feet up on the crate. The three roommates sat in silence. Once again, their lack of financial resources promised to end their evening before it began.

"Hang on, I saw something in the school paper last Friday." Steve got up and searched through the stack of papers sitting under a pizza box. He pulled out a copy of  _The Daily Californian*_ and flipped through the pages. "Here it is, they're giving away free tickets to the Beatles' Concert tonight at Candlestick over in the student union, what do you think? Some people are saying it'll be the last time we'll get to see em."

Tim rolled his eyes, "Damn, Steve, I wanna meet women, not jail bait!"

"I don't know. It could be groovy. They might play some of the new stuff from  _Revolver_ and not _ **all**_  of their fans are 15." Drew said with a little more enthusiasm. "Plus, it meets our most important criteria for the evening, the tickets are gratis!"

The three young men looked at each other and shrugged in a  _why not_  kind of way. Steve grabbed a flannel shirt and slipped it on over his t shirt and the three headed down to the student union to see if any of the free tickets were left.

00000

Jeannie came down the stairs sporting a nervous smile. She had on her favorite lime green and sky blue striped A-line skirt and white short-sleeve turtle neck. She had agonized all afternoon over what to wear to the concert and knew she might have another go round with her dad over her hem line, but this was the event of her dreams. She wanted to look her best, even if she had to go with her father. She grabbed her cropped jacket out of the hall closet and went into the kitchen to find her mom and dad.

"You ready dad?" Jeannie asked as she breezed through the door. This was not exactly how she wanted to go to the concert, with her ever so square policeman father, but she was still going to see Beatles! As she caught sight of Mike with his fedora and raincoat draped over a chair, she cringed and toyed with ways to ditch him once they were at Candlestick. She even knew where her friends were sitting, just in case.

She saw her dad stiffen as he looked at the length of her skirt and turned pleading eyes to her Mother. Helen sensed the upcoming storm and spoke to head it off before it began.

"You look wonderful Jeannie! Don't you think so, Mike?" Jeannie smiled.

Mike saw the look in his wife's eyes and knew he was outnumbered before he even opened his mouth. He nodded his head in ascent but was surprised when his wife continued to speak.

"Jeannie dear, do you think you're going to be warm enough, you know how chilly it gets at the Ballpark?"

Jeannie's face fell. While not strictly instructed to change, she knew her mom was right.

As their daughter retreated back to her bedroom, Mike was amazed at how Helen had manipulated both of them to avoid a confrontation. He turned to his wife. "How do you do that?"

Helen replied with a wry smile, "Do what? I have no idea what you are talking about."

Jeannie perused her bed, which was litters with various pieces of her wardrobe.  _Now what?_ She thought to herself. She picked up various articles of clothing, just as quickly dropping them back on the pile. She finally decide on a pair of bright yellow hip huggers with a wide black belt and kept the turtleneck. Finally looking in the mirror satisfied, she returned to the kitchen.

She peered in the door and paused when she saw her parents holding hands and speaking in low voices. She always got kind of teary eyed when she saw them like this. Her mom was the keystone in this household of hardheaded Stones, the one that held it all together. What were they going to do without her? Squaring her shoulders and brushing her hand across her face she entered the kitchen.

"Very Pretty, Jeannie," Mike stated when he caught side of Jeannie, "You look so grown up!"

Helen who had her back to the door, smiled at Mike, patted his hand and mouthed  _well done._

Mike got up and pulled on his coat and hat. "Are you going to be ok without us tonight, Darling?"

Helen put on a brave face, knowing how important this night was to father and daughter. She had serious reservations about being alone tonight. "I'll be fine. If I need any help, Mrs. Angelus is right next door and I have Rudy Olsen's number as well. You two go and have a great time." She knew that was unlikely in Mike's case but it was something she knew they had to do.

"We should be home by 11:30 or so, do you want to go upstairs before we leave?" Mike asked.

"No, just help me into the living room." Helen responded, "I think I'll read and try to wait up."

Jeannie hugged her mom, calling her goodbyes as she left out the front door. Mike embraced Helen as he gave her a kiss, lingering with her before he followed Jeannie to the car.

00000

Steve and his buddies entered the ASUC Student Union in Lower Sproul. Steve had worked there all summer and greeted the pretty young blonde manning the desk. "Hey Anna, what's up?"

Anna took off her glassed and looked up from a book she was reading. Tim elbowed Drew and said  _reading_ under his breath. Drew rolled his eyes and laughed. Steve looked back at the young men and sighed in response.

"Hi Steve, what brings you down here when you're not working?"

Steve smiled at Anna, "Free entertainment. Are there any of those Beatles' tickets left for tonight's concert?"

"Lemme check. I really didn't think you'd be into that scene." Anna dug into the desk drawer.

"Not usually, but we have a limited entertainment budget right now." Steve commented.

"Broke, hun?" Steve shrugged his shoulders sheepishly and raised his palms. Anna laughed as she pulled a large manila envelope out of the drawer. "Looks like you're in luck. There are a few left. If the semester had started already I doubt there would be any here." She handed the tickets to Steve. "Have fun guys." She said as she put her glasses back on and resumed reading.

"How come you never introduced her to us? Other than the glasses, she's cute." Tim said.

"Not your type man," Steve answered with a smirk, "She can read."

The young men piled into Drew's van and headed out to Candlestick Park. Even thought it was a little less than 18 miles away, it took the better part of an hour to make the trip at the tail end of rush hour. Parking at the furthest reaches (cheapest) section of the lot and trudging through the cold wind and fog to the gate, it was after 8pm before they got into the stadium. Music from the opening act The Remains could be heard indistinctly as they walked the concourse to their seats. Despite arriving after the show had started, it didn't seem like a terribly large crowd. As expected, it was made up of primarily teenage girls. Tim and Drew glared at Steve, "Whose idea was this, anyway?" Tim asked.

_***Berkeley student newspaper** _


	2. Chapter 2

Mike and Jeannie parked and made the long trek to the stadium entrance. It had been a very quiet drive, although that was not unusual of late. Mike had made some attempts at conversation, but it seemed he just didn't know how to talk to his little girl any more. He remembered the times he and Jeannie had "Daddy and Daughter" dates at the ball park and how she loved coming to Giants' games with him.  _Where did those days go?_ He mused with a sigh.

"Thanks, Dad," Jeannie said as they got to the gate. "I know that this isn't something you really wanted to do."

Mike began to speak, but was greeted by two uniformed officers he did not know, but who obviously recognized him, at the gate. "Well, Lieutenant Stone, as I live and breathe, you are the last person I expected to see here! And who is this lovely lady?"

Jeannie cringed, just what she needed, publicity to the fact that she had come to the concert with her square dad.

Mike smiled at the officer, "Well this just happens to be my daughter." He said proudly.

"Must take after her mother," the officer kidded. "Very nice to meet you Miss Stone."

Jeannie gave the officer a forced smile as Mike proffered the tickets to the attendant at the gate. He could see Jeannie's pained look at the attention she received from the officer and hurried her along. "Let's go find our seats."

00000

Steve, Drew and Tim hung back at the top of the field level seats, staying on the concourse level. "You guys want to sit or walk?" Drew asked.

Tim was looking around at the crowd. "I don't know, what time is the main event?"

Steve looked at his watch. "The Beatles probably won't go on for at least another hour."

Drew looked around. He spotted a knot of young women who looked a little older than the rest of the crowd. "Walk," Drew answered, pointing at the girls who had turned to move off to the left. "Definitely walk."

Music drifted through the concourse as the young men sidled up towards the group of 5 or so young women. Drew elbowed Tim excitedly, "Look man, the Doublemint Twins!" In fact, there was a set of blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauties that bore a striking resemblance to the girls in the chewing gum ads.

Steve rolled his eyes at the others.  _Oh brother, is this going to be bad,_  he thought. More than likely it would be a spectacular crash and burn for his friends. It wasn't that he had no interest in the young ladies, on the contrary, he had a healthy appreciation for the opposite sex, but with law school on the horizon, he suddenly felt like the only adult in the trio. Steve grabbed his friend's arm, "Really, Drew?"

He shook off Steve's restraining grip, "Come on, man, don't be a drag, it's every guy's fantasy!" Drew crooned, making a more concerted approach to the girls. Not in the mood to see his friends humiliate themselves with a couple of girls who appeared to be out of their league, Steve waved them on. He hung back, leaning against one of the concrete support columns and gazed over the seats toward the field while Tim and Drew chatted up the "Doublemint Twins."

Surprisingly after a few minutes, when Steve looked back towards his friends, they were still in deep conversation with the blondes, the other girls having moved out of site. Drew turned around and surreptitiously grinned at him. Steve gave him a half-hearted thumbs up and turned back to the show on the field, where the next band had begun its set. Steve peered at the crowd of already shrieking young ladies and decided that this had really been a big mistake. He was roused from his thoughts by Tim, who was excitedly pounding his arm.

"Hey man, what the h…" Steve turned around to see his very excited friend.

"Steve, you mind finding your own way back to Berkeley?"

"Why?" he asked, although he had a pretty good idea what the answer was going to be.

"Well Drew and I, well um, Deana and Donna, and well… um you know."

"Yeah, I know." Steve answered dryly. "One question, are they at least legal?"

"College chicks, man. Up here from UC Santa Barbara." Tim said with a Cheshire cat smile.

"Seeing as you're ditching me, am I at least going to be able to come back to the apartment tonight?"

Tim winked, "I hope not. Peace out, brother." he said as he trotted back to the girls and Drew.

_Great_ ,  _just what I wanted to do tonight, sleep on the couch at the union,_ thought Steve as he turned back toward the field. He was trying to decide if he should hang around for the show or just hitch a ride back to campus. To be fair, there were plenty of nights when Tim and Drew had made themselves scarce for him but maybe it was time for some new roommates.

00000

Mike and Jeannie found their seats as the first band started their set. While the crowd seemed a little sparse, the noise was deafening. Mike grimly thought _, if it's this loud now, I can just imagine what it will be like when the Beatles are on stage._  He looked around uncomfortably at the other spectators in their section. It seemed to be mostly comprised of delirious-looking teenage girls with a smattering of pained adults. What he had hoped would be an opportunity to connect with his daughter looked like a spectacular failure. Jeannie sat glumly, tapping her foot and staring off toward the field. Jeannie's' mood showed little improvement as the second band began to play. Mike saw the slump of her shoulders and after a few abortive tries at conversation he sat silently beside her.

For her part, all the enthusiasm and excitement had drained from the evening. In her mind, she secretly plotted ways to get away from her father and find her girlfriends. Having been to Candlestick many times as a girl, she had a fairly good idea of where they were sitting in relationship to Mike and her. In her heart, she knew this whole "date" had been engineered by her mom in order to mend her and her dad's broken relationship. She truly loved her dad and in light of what lay in the near the future, she knew she shouldn't be longing to share this experience with her friends, but all her teen age self could see was the biggest event of her young life turning into a huge drag.

The volume continued to ramp up amongst the crowd in response to the on field entertainment. Mike, however noticed another sound. It started as a low rumbling undertone somewhere behind him and gradually grew until many in the crowd were turned away from the field and facing the disturbance behind them.

What appeared to be a brawl had broken out on the concourse. Mike looked around for security or some of the boys in blue in attendance. He was dismayed when he saw none.

**A/N: Mike's impression of the crowd comes from direct experience as a parent at and nsync concert at RFK in DC a number of years back. What we do for our kids, lol!**

**When I did my research for this story, I originally read that the final song of the concert was a cover of "Long Tall Sally." While writing this chapter, I read up a little more and found out that it actually ended with a John Lennon tease of "In My Life."**


	3. Chapter 3

Jeannie turned around to see what Mike was so intent on. She caught sight of the disturbance and looked at her dad.

"I'm sorry, honey. Stay here, I'll be back in a minute." Mike shouted before she could say anything and jumped out of his seat. He felt a little guilty leaving Jeannie alone, but with this many people and nobody else around, he felt it was his duty to make sure things didn't get out of hand. He took the steps two at a time and arrived to find several young men and a few young ladies involved in what only could be described as a free for all.

00000

Steve walked slowly around the stadium while another performance came and went. He was still undecided on whether to stay or go when he saw the mêlée in front of him. As much as he didn't want to go anywhere near it, he felt compelled to help out the one person who was trying to control the situation. An older man, who Steve assumed was a cop, was trying to restore order but he was hopelessly outnumbered. He'd lost his hat and had blood running down his cheek. The situation deteriorated as more and more people pressed in from the sides. Steve looked around for more cops (This struck him as ironic, considering the many times he'd tried to avoid the fuzz in the name of civil disobedience.) but saw none.

His first instinct was to jump in and aid the overwhelmed officer, but he was quickly shaken off. "GET HELP" the officer barked and Steve concurred it was the best course of action, figuring he could offer very little in the way of physical assistance. He ran up the concourse. Spotting two uniformed officers in one of the exit tunnels, he alerted them to the situation. He heard them radio for help as they sped towards the altercation. He felt a little guilty that he hadn't done more, but what else could he do? When he returned to the site, Steve saw that the trench-coated officer now had more than enough assistance. He skirted the mop-up activity and continued to walk. After a few minutes he looked down on the field. He checked his watch and figured the Beatles were up shortly, so what the heck. Steve pulled his ticket from his pocket and made for his seat.

00000

Jeannie peered down at her watch for the umpteenth time. Almost an hour had passed and Mike was nowhere around. She stood up and craned her neck toward the concourse but saw nothing. Becoming fearful for him, she considered leaving her seat to look for her dad.

When he first left, she thought briefly that this was her opportunity to find her friends, but the look on his face when he left, a strange mélange of guilt, indecision and resolve had kept her in place. She'd never really seen that from her father,  _or maybe I never noticed before_  she thought.  _He didn't want to leave me but felt compelled to do so. Is that what being an adult is? What being a cop is? Doing what has to be done, not what we want to do?_

She shuddered and rested her elbows on her knees, her head in her hands, and closed her eyes. The final warm up act had completed their set and it was almost time for the Beatles, not that she'd noticed. She was worried about her dad.  _This was what it was like for her mom every day_.  _How did I miss that?_ With one thought of her mother and still concerned for her dad, her best efforts could not stop her tears.

Jeannie was roused from her inner dialogue when someone dropped heavily into the seat next to her. Hoping it was her dad, Jeannie turned to look at the new arrival. She was slightly taken aback at the sudden appearance of a handsome young man.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Steve said as he looked at the girl, who was obviously distressed. He pulled a rumpled bandana from his pocket and apologetically offered it to her. She accepted the bandana, looked shyly at him and attempted to wipe the tears from her eyes. She tried to hand it back, but he put up his hand, "No, you keep it, it looks like you need it more than me."

"Thanks," she whimpered as she made a futile stab to get herself back under control.

"It's a Beatles Concert. Why so sad?" he asked.

Jeannie gazed at him through tear misted eyes. He looked a little scary, with long hair and a beard, but he had the most amazing eyes and a warm smile. She knew her dad would blow his top if he found her chatting up a total stranger but for some reason, the man's attention did not seem threatening to her.

"You came for a concert, I don't think you really want to hear my problems," she said in a voice barely above the noise of the crowd.

Now intrigued with the sad teen in this incongruous setting, he responded, "Why don't you try me?"

00000

Mike reached down and picked up his hat, dusted it off and returned it to his head. With the help of the arriving officers, the combatants on the concourse had been subdued. He pulled his white handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his cheek.

"You ok?" A uniformed officer asked as they walked down the tunnel. "I can call one of the stadium medics."

Mike shook him off. He very much wanted to return to his seat and check on Jeannie, but knew that had to wait until all the participants in tonight's extracurricular activities were checked out, cleaned up and processed. He was organizing transport near the exit when he heard the sound ramp up in the stadium and assumed the Beatles had taken the stage.  _One more thing I have to make up to Jeannie_ , he thought ruefully.  _What happens when that list gets too long to fill_? Another half hour passed before his last "guest" was taken away and he was able to slowly make his way back into the stadium against a tide exiting concertgoers.

00000

With a shrug of her shoulders, Jeannie leaned toward him and told the stranger her story. About how cancer was taking her mother. She talked about her inability to connect with her old-fashioned dad, and how worried she was about him and their future. She had no idea why she was talking to him. Words poured out of her and with them, some of the fear, anger and resentment she was carrying escaped.

For his part, Steve let her vent and listened until she was talked out. He was relieved that as she spoke her tears ebbed. Despite her words and current fragile state, he could sense her inner strength. He didn't know why, but he felt like this little girl could handle anything that life threw at her.

"Oh, man I am so sorry," Jeannie said, embarrassed, as she wiped her face one more time. "I just dumped a heap of grief on you and I don't even know your name."

Steve smiled and tried to introduce himself, but gave up as the noise in the stadium increased to a crescendo. DJ "Emperor" Gene Nelson has taken the stage and introduced the Beatles.

They stared down at the spectacle. Conversation, and actually hearing the music, was impossible as the shrieking fans overwhelmed the "Sticks" feeble sound system. Halfway through the set, the screaming ebbed slightly as the strains of  _Yesterday_ began _._ When he saw his young companion start to tear up again, he took her hand. While she initially flinched from his touch, he persisted. When the song ended she thanked him with a too-bright eyed glance.

The concert continued. As the last strains of  _Long Tall Sally_ ebbed, George, Paul and Ringo left the stage, but John Lennon remained, teasing the audience with the first few lines of  _In My Life_ before departing _._

The noise level dropped dramatically as the crowd streamed up the aisles. Jeannie stayed rooted to the spot. She turned around looking up towards the concourse for Mike. "Oh God, I hope nothing's happened to him," She said in a frightened whisper. The stranger stayed at her side as she now desperately looked for some sign of her father.

"I'm sure everything is fine. Don't worry, I'll stay with you until he finds you." Steve said as Jeannie searched the crowd for a glimpse of her dad.

When she caught sight of Mike's familiar fedora, she sighed in relief. She called out for her dad, but gave up when he did not respond and 5 other _dads_  turned her way. She finally resorted to calling "MIKE" at the top of her voice. Mike turned and smiled broadly as he spied Jeannie still in her seat. Steve was surprised to see that the man in question was none other than the cop he'd seen on the concourse.

Deciding it was time to make his exit, Steve turned to Jeannie. "I know you've got a lot going on, but I think you'll be ok." He looked up at Mike as he hurried down the aisle and then looked back at Jeannie with the sadness of opportunities lost in his eyes, "Give him a chance, he might surprise you. You know what the lads say don't you?"

Jeannie looked back with a quizzical expression.

" _All you need is love_. And by the look on his face, I think you have plenty of that." He said with a grin and kissed her on the cheek as he took his leave.

Mike came up to Jeannie and gave her a big hug. She looked wide eyed at the cut on his face and without thinking said, "Mike, what happened?"

Mike raised an eyebrow at her address, but warmed by her concern, replied, "It's nothing."

"Sure," she said as she took his arm, you'll have to tell me about it someday.

As they walked to the car, Mike listened happily as Jeannie prattled on about the concert. Mike wasn't sure what happened this evening, but Jeannie had said more to him in the last 5 minutes than she had in the last 6 weeks. Despite his absence, she seemed to have enjoyed the evening and he was glad to see a smile on her face. It was a look that had been absent for some time. She was actually humming as they arrived at the car.

"What's that sweetheart?" he asked.

"John Lennon played a few bars of it at the end of the concert. It's called  _In My Life._ She proceeded to sing the first verse of the song.

"That's really beautiful Jeannie, I had no idea that Lennon and McCartney were so poetic."

Now it was Jeannie's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I know our near future is going to be really hard, dad"

Stunned, Mike turned toward her and gave her a sad smile. "I know sweetheart, but we are stronger together than we are apart." He took her hand, "I'll try if you'll try. You know how much I love you."

Jeannie smiled as she was slipping a bandana into her pocket, "A wise man told me that all you need is love, do you think that's true, daddy?"

Mike brushed the tears out of his eyes, squeezed Jeannie's hand and started the car.

"I guess I do."

**A/N: Before you all crucify me, I know that "All You Need Is Love" didn't come out until 1967/68. But, it's my story…**


End file.
